Abu Sayyaf Chieftain Death Important In Anti-Terror Campaign, Says U.S.

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 2o Jan) – The United States on Saturday said the death of a top Abu Sayyaf leader in the southern Philippines was an important and positive step forward in the ultimate goal of eliminating the terror group and destroying its links with international terrorists.

Filipino and American forensic experts have identified the remains of Khadaffy Janjalani, leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, who was killed in fighting in the southern Philippine island of Jolo in September.

Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said DNA tests confirmed that the body dug up last month by soldiers belonged to Janjalani. The remains were exhumed late December after two former Abu Sayyaf militants who surrendered to the military led troops to a shallow grave in the jungle village of Kabuntakas in Patikul town.

“The DNA tests are done and it confirmed that the body was that of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani,” Bacarro told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Manila.

The military previously said the Filipino and U.S. forensic experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were conducting DNA testing on tissue samples of Janjalani and his jailed brother Hector Janjalani.

"The death of Khaddafy Janjalani is an important and positive step forward in the ultimate goal of eliminating the ruthless and dangerous Abu Sayyaf Group, and in destroying its links with international terrorist groups such as the Jemaah Islamiya."

"The U.S. will continue to work with partners in the Philippines' military, law enforcement, and national and local governments to bring terrorists to justice and to build peace and prosperity in Mindanao and throughout the Philippines," said a U.S. Embassy statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner on Saturday.

"The United States congratulates the Government of the Philippines on confirmation that the leader of the terrorist organization Abu Sayyaf Group, Khaddafy Janjalani, has been killed," it said.

"Remains found on the island of Jolo in Sulu province in December 2006 have been proven by forensic and DNA tests conducted in the Philippines and the United States to be those of the terrorist leader. This is a major step forward in the fight against terrorism in the Philippines and in the global war on terror."

Washington offered rewards up to $5 million for information leading to the capture or killing of Janjalani, who was implicated in the kidnappings and killings of two U.S. citizens in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)